When the leader of the United Nation’s World Food Programme warned that a “silent tsunami” of hunger is sweeping the globe because of soaring food prices, a lot of folks probably viewed it as just another clever sound bite tossed off by a bureaucrat.

I have a feeling we’re going to be hearing a lot more of this as the worldwide commodities boom goes on. A day after a run on rice in California prompted Costco and other chains to limit buyers to only a bag or two at a time.

Rice has now shot up 75% in the last two months alone. Corn is up 30% this year. Wheat has managed 120% gains over the past 12 months.

With staple foods racing to record high prices, the world’s poor are feeling the pinch of the global food crisis. But the effects are not limited to the third world. Costco stores in northern California are imposing limits on buying of oil, flour, and rice reported a recent article in the NY Sun.

“I haven’t gone on a political tirade in a good while, or as my friends would say, in a hot minute. But the one I’m about to go on could really affect the way we look at the economy in the future” says Charles Delvalle.

“So let me start from the beginning.”

“The Presidential election is about seven months away. And at this point in the game, it’s time for the candidates to really talk about what they would do if they were president.”

Another sign that the US has entered a recession?According to a survey released today, US consumer confidence is the lowest it’s been in over a quarter of a century.

This month the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers has fallen to the lowest since March 1982’s level of 62.0.

According to Reuters, this is “when the ’stagflationary’ period of low growth and high inflation was still fresh in the memory of many Americans.”

US stock futures are down today following their worst single session yesterday in two weeks after oil,  gasoline and corn hit record highs.

Dow Jones MarketWatch reports that S&P 500 futures fell 6.5 points to 1,353.80 and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 8.25 points to 1,829.00, while Dow industrial futures fell 52 points.

Yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 49 points, the Nasdaq Composite lost 26 points and the S&P 500 fell 11 points.

As commodity markets become more mainstream for investors its interesting to know that energy and food shortages may very well come hand in hand. Here is a recent column that my collegue Kevin Kerr wrote for Outstanding Investments, it sheds a little bit of light on the situation.

The return of the cattle market…have the feds saved the planet? Doesn’t seem likely. Someone will pay for the mistakes in our economy – and it will most likely be you. The end is neigh for ethanol…a way for America to get close to energy independence…and more!

Right now, countries around the world are facing food shortages. There’s just not enough to go around, when prices of corn, soybeans, rice and other basic staples are soaring in price.

Major spikes in rice prices and other staples have kicked off food riots in Yemen and Morocco and hoarding in Hong Kong, reports The Washington Post.

As a result of the price hikes Egypt, Cambodia, India and Vietnam have restricted export restricted the export of rice.